Alison Meek

Consultant, Contentious Trusts and Estates

Alison is a Consultant, joining our Contentious Trusts and Estates team in May 2022.

She has extensive international and domestic experience spanning many years of professional practice.

Alison accepts instructions from professional trustees and trust companies onshore and offshore, executors and beneficiaries.

She trained as a litigator at Herbert Smith but also has a background in private client practice at Withers and Boodle Hatfield and subsequently Sinclair Gibson, where she was a partner until April 2022.

Experience

Contentious probate practice:

• Acts for executors and beneficiaries. She acts for Will Trustees where beneficiaries are in dispute and has also taken on the neutral role of will trustee in her professional capacity as part of a probate dispute.
• Acts for parties to claims under the 1975 Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act. She acts for claimants and defendants to these proceedings, also as a defendant trustee or executor in a professional capacity.
• Advises in connection with disputes over the administration of and succession to the estates of individuals involving complex conflicts of laws/cross-border issues.
• Has been appointed as a professional personal representative by the court.

Contentious trust practice:

• Acts for parties involved in applications for the administration of trusts Public Trustee v Cooper: offshore and in England and Wales.
• Has undertaken applications for the variation of trusts in England and Wales and offshore.
• Has acted for trustees joined as third parties in divorce proceedings.
• Has acted in connection with applications for breach of trust; acting for defendants/claimants.

Court of Protection proceedings:

• Acts in Court of Protection proceedings, applications for the appointment of a deputy and for the preparation of Statutory Wills (including opposing such applications).
• Has acted as a deputy in the Court of Protection.
• Has experience securing injunctive relief to remove and replace individuals holding Lasting Powers of Attorney.

Charities:

• Has acted for charitable trustees involved in probate disputes and in Charity proceedings.
• Tax proceedings involving HMRC: Alison is involved in proceedings before the first-tier tribunal (tax) on behalf of the tax payer.

Mediator:

• Is trained as a mediator with ADR Chambers, accredited in April 2012.

Trusteeships/non-executive roles:

• Acts as a professional trustee and also has roles as a trustee in her personal capacity. She is a trustee of a large private charitable trust. Also she is a trustee of the Gabrieli Consort. She is a trustee of the Valerie Beston Young Artists' Trust.
• Accepts appointments as a professional trustee and has held hold appointments as protector of offshore trusts.

Publications/Media/digital projects

• Co-authored "The Practitioner’s Guide to Contentious Trusts and Estates" published by Tolleys/Butterworths in 2002.
• Co-edited and contributed to "International Trust Disputes" published by OUP (first edition 2012, second edition 2020). Alison wrote the chapter on Matrimonial Disputes.
• Was one of the 100 women invited to contribute to the First 100 Years Project, a digital museum charting the journey of women in law from 1919 – 2019.
• Has been a guest on Woman's Hour to speak about the importance of Wills/financial planning for women and subsequently in relation to issues involving powers of attorney.

Professional organisations and memberships

• Was a founder member of the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Solicitors (ACTAPS) and remains a member.
• Is a member of STEP.
• Between 2005 – 2014 Alison was a member of the Law Society Wills & Equity Committee.

Awards and recognitions

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